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Guy Stewart (Victron Community Manager) avatar image

Welcome, please read the Victron Community Guidelines here first!

Hello and Welcome!

These are some of the Victron Community guidelines. The community is predominantly volunteers, and the vast majority of the answers are provided by enthusiasts. It is not an Official Ask Victron site, for that please use the normal line of support.


Read the Victron Support page, and follow the steps in order

After you have read the Support page, if you believe that Victron Community is the best place for your enquiry, please search the previous posts. If you find your question already answered, please give it an upvote.

If you cannot find a similar question, register an account and prepare your post.

You will need to provide some basic information before you can post a question.

Try to limit the Subject and first line of your post to a single, short, question.

This can then be followed on by further background information to provide context, examples or attempts you have already made to address the issue; If you think it will help in answering.


One Question per post

This community is intended to become a knowledge base. We want people to be able to quickly search for their question, and find the answer. Ideally the answer is a link or reference to the precise Victron documentation.

To help with this, please keep your posts focused clearly on a single question, issue or problem.

If you have follow up questions that are different from the original, please create a new post. It is encouraged to create more posts with clear titles, if you have more questions.

If we think that multiple different questions are being asked, we may ask you to split them up.

This allows future users to find specific questions, and clear precise answers very quickly.

If you try to ask follow up questions in the same post, they are likely to be missed, because the original question appears as answered.


Accept the best answers

If you have asked a question, and an answer helps you towards a solution, please click the 'Accept' link under the answer.

Even if you didn't ask the original question, if you see or are helped by an answer on the site, you can also click to accept it as well. This will elevate the answer and help others who have the same issue.


Not really the place for System Design

Long, multifaceted issues involving system design, multiple run on questions with very specific installation and nuanced details are not really well suited for the structure of the community. It is best to have a single question with a clear title per post. More complex enquires are best be directed towards your distributor.


Constantly Improving Documentation

Victron is constantly improving documentation, every single day something is updated.

It is ok to ask questions that may be in the manual, though we ask you to also look yourself, and self-post the answer if you find it before someone else does, ideally with the manual and section reference.

This can help others, and also help Victron to make manuals clearer.


Choose A Good Topic Title

Please use an appropriate title when asking a new question. “No lights on 100/50 MPPT” is a good title. “URGENT HELP PLS!!!” is not. This helps those who have specific product knowledge find your question to answer, and also others who might have the same issue find it easily later.



Editing Posts

Occasionally Victron will edit questions, topics and answers if we think it will be helpful or add clarity.

We will also sometimes edit posts with updates or corrections, when new information is available.



Helping Out

If you would like to help, there is a list of unanswered questions here and normally on the right hand side on desktop and down the bottom on mobile.

Thanks :)



Many Answers

We hope that every question will receive an answer from the community. If you think you can clarify further, even if there is already an answer, please contribute. Other users are able to upvote better answers, or accept the best one (or more).

On occasion, a Victron person may also contribute. Please do not specifically @ request an answer from Victron without first giving the community an opportunity to answer.


Be Honest

We are all here to learn, please be honest with your level of experience and confidence. If you are certain of a solution and a fact, it is ok to say so. If you only think something might be some way, or are just testing an idea, please say that too.


Human only

Please don’t post answers generated by AI models (such as chatGPT) - it is pretty obvious to the trained eye, the advice they give isn’t always wrong, but it’s never quite right. We’ll delete it and suspend, as it’s used by spam accounts.



When will new product X, Y or Z be available?

Please do not ask the community when products, updates or approvals will be ready or available.

New products are announced at various shows and on the Victron blog website. This is done when the specifications are quite certain, but before there is a good indication around supply dates. Delays can occur. Victron Professionals can subscribe to our weekly newsletter which provides updates.

Check the price list on our website. For soon-coming-but-not-yet-in-available products, it lists an indicative release date. Once in the price list, you can place an order with your distributors, and then you will be among the first to receive the product when it starts shipping. Anything not listed in the price list yet is not progressed far enough for us to give out a date. So we will not comment on availability questions.

Approvals are often subject to testing and 3rd party organisations that operate on their own timeline.

Thanks for your interest and patience, we want to have these available too!


More Technical than Business

As a manufacturer our focus is on supporting our equipment from a technical perspective, and rely upon a worldwide dealer network to reach customers.

If you feel very strongly about an experience you have had with a Victron dealer, and think that it is important that Victron knows about it, please direct it towards the appropriate regional sales manager instead of posting it on the community.


Please try and keep financial and business conversations direct with those involved and not on the Community site. Please do not post specific pricing, the internet is already exceptional for comparative price shopping. This community is not about that. The community can help with equipment issues, software bugs, and even feature requests but not finding the best deal, or getting a refund.


Questions about systems with Modifications and Customisations

Please ask any questions and information that involves anything that touches the ‘unsupported’ side of Victron equipment (such as custom programming, self-made cables, Raspberry Pi, modified hardware, APIs, Modbus TCP, NodeRed, ESS mode 2+3, etc) to the special MODIFICATIONS SPACE.

There you can find an active enthusiast community who are looking to make the most of their systems and expand their own knowledge and control beyond the bounds of what most normal users and installers expect (a nice stable and reliable power system).

This space is also for 3rd party battery BMS integrations that are NOT on the supported battery compatibility list.



I want to speak to the Manager!

Sometimes there is a problem with the site, or your account, and you might need to speak to the Victron Community Manager. Please follow these directions to get in touch.



A Disclaimer

This is a public community and anybody is able to contribute. Please use the normal channel of support if you are unsure of how to proceed, or wish to escalate an enquiry.

Power systems are inherently complex systems with unknown elements outside of our control, Victron does not validate the information provided here. Friendly questions and suggestions are made in good faith and all electrical work should be supervised by a qualified technician.

I hope you are all enjoying the site and finding it useful. Thanks for being a part of the Victron Community.


Guy Stewart

Victron Community Manager

PS - I also welcome any suggestions you might have. This is a live document, so there will be changes:

https://www.victronenergy.com/live/community_guidelines

victron community
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13 Answers
Charlie Johnson avatar image
Charlie Johnson answered ·

Guy, I concur with Michael Riley's and Kai's comments.

This is a tough call but the Victron equipment is so feature rich that many times mere mortals have a difficult time understanding and integrating the new piece of Victron equipment into a system. I agree that "do you think my wiring design looks ok" types of questions do not belong here and a moderator should immediately delete them with a note back to the poster.

And yes, there are bugs and mistakes that need to be sussed out and corrected. This is the perfect place for those types of observations.

Possibly develop a FAQ section to capture those "Why can't I read battery temperature via Bluetooth 20' away from the Smart Battery Sense?" types of questions.

Charlie Johnson

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Tom avatar image
Tom answered ·

It would be wonderful is we had the ability to private message users for outside contact with regard to topics or answers that would be best not to be made public or could be seen as off topic.

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v-fanatic avatar image v-fanatic commented ·

Hi, That would be a great feature

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Guy Stewart (Victron Community Manager) avatar image
Guy Stewart (Victron Community Manager) answered ·

Updated on 2020-01-07 to include:

More Technical than Business

As a manufacturer, we are focused on supporting our equipment from a technical perspective. We rely upon a worldwide dealer network to reach customers.

If you feel very strongly about an experience you have had with a Victron dealer, and think that it is important that Victron knows about it, please direct it towards the appropriate regional sales manager instead of posting it on the community.

Please do not post specific pricing, the internet is already exceptional for comparative price shopping. This community is not about that. We can help with your equipment issues, software bugs, and feature requests but not finding the best deal.

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Guy Stewart (Victron Community Manager) avatar image
Guy Stewart (Victron Community Manager) answered ·

A new update to the community guidelines today to hopefully increase the number of answers that get 'accepted' :

Accept the best answers

If you have asked a question, and an answer helps you towards a solution, please click the 'Accept' link under the answer.

Even if you didn't ask the original question, if you see or are helped by an answer on the site, you can also click to accept it as well. This will elevate the answer and help others who have the same issue.

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kevgermany avatar image
kevgermany answered ·

I've been using the community for a few months now. Mighty useful. Thanks.

There's a statement that it's expected to become a reference surce, great, it's becoming that.

I see a lot of repeat questions and a lot of information that gets lost in the maze of answers and comments. Is it a good time to analyse and create an FAQ area? Maybe as FAQ entries are created we could archive the superseded entries.

I'd be glad to help with the work.

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Michael Riley avatar image
Michael Riley answered ·

@Guy Stewart

Guy, I have re-read the Community Guidelines and I note that there is direction not to use this forum for detailed specific installation or design issues - these are to be directed to the Victron Distributor.

I note that this is not being followed - guilty myself. May I humbly suggest that some tolerance or better 'scoping' of that intent be appended to these Guidelines to assist us because:

Firstly, I would like to comply, but equally

- almost everything I read in the forums is related to a specific installation, and

- a significant number of the posts relate to 'design' (perhaps hidden as configuration);

- most importantly I did go to two Victron Distributors (in Australia) - one recommended by Victron BV staff - and if that was my lot I would have gone to another product had I not personally been so keen on Victron;

AND I ended up (am still dealing with) a lot of misleading or just downright WRONG Victron products provided by 'Dealers' with a whole range of different (than Victron or myself) agenda.

Not understanding the intent of your above direction I cannot make a suitable suggestion other than perhaps a 'seperate' thread or tag for 'design-related' elements. To me the distinction between what I see and what I want is very blurred as I get great value from it all. Your guidance would be appreciated.

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kai avatar image kai ♦ commented ·

I would also lean towards Michael's interpretation. Many of the topics raised on the community are generally there because an installer or end user has encountered a specific issue or scenario. These threads together build up a body of knowledge that benefits everyone. Some are long, detailed, multifaceted and have nuances.

"how do I spec out my system" threads can chew up oxygen and largely only benefits the poster (not to mention the implied stamp of approval that Victron probably isn't intending to provide through the community).

The wording in question as it stands could be interpreted to discourage the former as well as the latter, but I don't think that was the intent (?)

I can also see how difficult it can be to draft words to differentiate the two. Maybe its worth while providing a few definitive examples that shows where the line is.

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Thank you both for the feedback.

I understand and believe you both also understand the balance we are trying to find here.

I am still considering how I can update the guidelines to make this clear.

I am very happy with the current level help from the community and the depth and complexity of the questions that are answered vs those that are referred on to the distributors.

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petajoule avatar image petajoule commented ·

I would go as far as to say that a community forum is actually best used for specific installation or design issues.

If it was a general question/topic, then the answer is done by pointing the user to the respective documentation. The End.

If it was something related to some "specific" solution the user would have from a Victron reseller/distributor/solution provider, then we can assume the user would have asked that Victron <something> in the first place.

What remains is the community, which is enthusiasts, DIY-people, or customers of said "solution providers" who might have gone out of business. As long as it is stated clearly that this is not a place to "demand" support from Victron (or anyone else), I don't see why a pre-emptive restriction filter should be in place. Provided discussion is on topic and not sending favorite cat pics.

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adev avatar image adev petajoule commented ·

I do Agree!

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boekel avatar image
boekel answered ·

Also there might be a way to link posts to previous similar questions? and/or to a FAQ.

This prevents the same question being answered 20 times (like 'can i use an MPPT with a dc power source')

When people don't use the presented suggestions or a search function, it's doubtful they will read the guidelines ;)

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kai avatar image
kai answered ·

Is it possible to add a reference to Wiring Unlimited in the Guidelines; there have been a number of queries which relate to fundamentals covered by the document.


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Good suggestion @kai !

Though, I think the Wiring Unlimited link would be more appropriate in Step 2 of the Victron Support page - before Victron Community (Step 4).

I will see to it.

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Rod Krempaszky avatar image
Rod Krempaszky answered ·
Hi Guy, Keep up the brilliant work mate, you are an asset for Victron and for those keeping up with your posts. Majority of all other manufacturers do not have any forum to interface with to learn to grow with the product. More technical than business I agree, this is the forum for this. Installation and design as 'fit for purpose' is on the installer signing their name to the site, not the manufacturer. High risk, ROI systems, that merge household insurance policies and the legal system only highlights the importance of what you post. The installer must obtain training from a distributor directly who comprehends the product (not a box mover based on price as seen in damaging ads) or via the Victron reps training. Keep up the good work mate. I hope to see you again this year in Melbourne over a beer or three. Cheers Rod
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Thanks for the great feedback @Rod,

I'm happy to read the site and our efforts are useful. I agree 100% that having a good relationship with a knowledgable distributor is essential for success when working with Victron.

I am going to be spending more time developing new (and hopefully industry leading) training resources for distributors and installers in 2020.

I will be attending AllEnergy with Victron, if you can make it to that, get in touch at the Victron stand and we'll grab that beer.

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Warwick Bruce Chapman avatar image Warwick Bruce Chapman commented ·

Hear hear! Thank you for everything you're doing @Guy Stewart (Victron Community Manager). Distributor training would be excellent!

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waninae39 avatar image
waninae39 answered ·
how can one add photos. this needed to better explain questions or answers
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JohnC avatar image JohnC ♦ commented ·

With your photo as a file, just copy/paste it.

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Guy Stewart (Victron Community Manager) avatar image
Guy Stewart (Victron Community Manager) answered ·

Updated on 2020-09-16 to include:

Questions about systems with Modifications and Customisations

Please ask any questions and information that involves anything that touches the ‘unsupported’ side of Victron equipment (such as custom programming, self-made cables, raspberry pi, modified hardware, APIs, Modbus TCP, NodeRed, ESS mode 2+3, etc) to the special MODIFICATIONS SPACE.

There you can find an active enthusiast community who are looking to make the most of their systems and expand their own knowledge and control beyond the bounds of what most normal users and installers expect (a nice stable and reliable power system).

EDITED - 2020-11-02 - to include:

This space is also for 3rd party battery BMS integrations that are NOT on the supported battery compatibility list.

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marekp avatar image
marekp answered ·

Maybe stupid question.

What is this "reputation" bit and how is it calculated?

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Hi @MarekP,

Generally speaking reputation is gained by participating in the community. Different things you do will earn different amounts of reputation. For example, asking a question gives you a little, answering a question gives you more, and having that answer accepted gets you even more still.

Once you have enough reputation, you get additional permissions on the site (e.g. the ability to create your own topic tags, rather than just using the ones already created by others).

I am keeping the exact values and exactly what permissions deliberately vague. While it should be a useful way of keeping count, and a good encouragement and recognition of those actively participating, I don't want people to actively try and game the system.


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Vance Mitchell avatar image Vance Mitchell Guy Stewart (Victron Community Manager) ♦♦ commented ·

It would be good if there was a way to mark answers as unhelpful so if people are posting junk they don't receive reputation from it.

There has been a few post lately where I looked for an 'unlike' button, due to inaccurate information.

Do replies also add to the reputation or only answers? If moderators were given the choice to make an answer a reply without reputation the conversation could continue without confusing the threads.

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Guy Stewart (Victron Community Manager) avatar image Guy Stewart (Victron Community Manager) ♦♦ Vance Mitchell commented ·

Replies will give some reputation, but not as much as an answer, or an answer that gets accepted.

Do you think people are deciding how/where to post based on a reputation reward? I wouldn’t think so?

1 Like 1 ·
Guy Stewart (Victron Community Manager) avatar image Guy Stewart (Victron Community Manager) ♦♦ Vance Mitchell commented ·

If you see an answer that is actually wrong or misleading, please report it.

We disabled the dislike/downvote feature a long while ago, and this is the first request I have seen for its return.

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marekp avatar image marekp Guy Stewart (Victron Community Manager) ♦♦ commented ·

@Guy Stewart (Victron Community Manager)

Thank you for explanation. It sort of confirms my understanding of it, but is there a possibility to loose a reputation points for doing something wrong?

If that is the case, maybe the offender should be someway informed of the offense, he committed, so he or she would not repeat it in the future?

I am asking this question because for short time I had 51 points and now I have 41.

Please do not take this question the wrong way.

I am new to this community and would not want to do thinks that are against its rules.

Also if the is a way to loose points for misbehaving, the lesson in lost on the offender if he does not know what kind of offense he committed to warrant the loss of the reputation points.

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markus avatar image markus ♦♦ marekp commented ·

+20 Points; you are welcome.

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marekp avatar image marekp markus ♦♦ commented ·

Thank you, but it makes me sad that you think that my comment was about reputation points I lost, and this is the only thing you chose to "comment" on my post.

Also you confused me, because after explanation about reputation points, Guy gave here, I am at loss how you can "just like that" give me 20 points?

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markus avatar image markus ♦♦ marekp commented ·

No - the opposite was my intention. I did not want to make you sad.

I can not think of a reason how you lost your points. It was possible to downvote sometimes ago, this was taking 10 points from you if your comment/answer got downvoted. But there is no other way I am aware of to loose points. So my intention was to just compensate for your loss.

You can give away the points you earned to everyone here. Just click on his profile and there you can give him/her your rep. points.

Best Regards,

Markus

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marekp avatar image marekp markus ♦♦ commented ·

@Markus

Can you explain to me how I can give someone my points.

Tried to find this option in one of the users profile and did not find one.

I assume that you get to the profile by clicking user name.

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JohnC avatar image JohnC ♦ marekp commented ·

@MarekP

There's no way your loss of points would be related to 'punishment'. Maybe one way it could happen is that the post they were applied to was deleted. It would actually be a rarity for this to happen anyway.

Sometimes posters will log in with a false email and be contacted directly. Yes, even to help them with their issue. Then there's no choice, and if something is wrong then it may have to be 'fixed' without consultation.

But I stand by Markus donating you his own points. I've done it before, the last to a really nice fellow who accepted my answer really when he shouldn't have. Knowing it was worth 50 points, I donated them back to him. I didn't tell him, but he deserved them rather than I.

I'll throw you another 50 too, just for fun. I don't count them, but hopefully it'll help you get your head around what we're like here, and continue to contribute (I've noticed).

There's nothing sinister happening here, and I'd welcome anyone in if their heart's in the right place.

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marekp avatar image marekp JohnC ♦ commented ·

@JohnC

Apparently there is a way to loose point. :)

As Guy explained, getting your post reported does the trick.

So when I reported my own post with the intention to help keep this forum tidy, I did it to myself. :)

Thank you for the 50 points and I understand and appreciate the intentions with which they were given.

As I said in the beginning, the loss of those 10 point was not the main reason for the question.

I simply want to understand the rules and inner workings of this community.

As you can see I have allot to learn. :)


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Hi @MarekP,

Generally, we don't penalise by removing reputation. Though it could happen that you lose it by having an accepted answer 'unaccepted', which sometimes happens when a better answer is posted.

Also you get reputation when a person upvotes your post, and perhaps that upvote is removed by the person again.

Generally myself and others here are super tolerant (dutch style) about how people engage with the community. And only really abusive content gets moderated. Most times the community will tend to police itself (with words by other community members).

If there is some kind of feedback needed, it will usually be given by a reply message that is only visible to yourself and moderators, and then a link to the guidelines.

If you have read the guidelines, you are 99% of the way there.

PS if ever you feel to earn a few more reps.... Please help us Answer the Unanswered Questions :)

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marekp avatar image marekp Guy Stewart (Victron Community Manager) ♦♦ commented ·

@Guy Stewart (Victron Community Manager)

So, maybe specific question.

If my comment gets reported for any reason, will I get points deducted?


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Yes. Reputation will be lost for having a post reported. But not nearly as much as is gained by having an answer accepted :)

1 Like 1 ·
marekp avatar image marekp Guy Stewart (Victron Community Manager) ♦♦ commented ·

@Guy Stewart (Victron Community Manager)

So, if I reported my own post than I lost my points from my own hand, :)

I reported my post because I wanted to delete it since it was a double post caused by system hiccup. I selected delete the post but it did not disappear, only was marked by word in red DELETED.

I could not find the way to contact moderator directly so I used "report" option and asked him to delete this post.

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The DELETED tag means it is not visible to anyone else, (but still to you allowing you to undelete if you made a mistake.

1 Like 1 ·
marekp avatar image marekp Guy Stewart (Victron Community Manager) ♦♦ commented ·

@Guy Stewart (Victron Community Manager)

Maybe there should be an information that it is not visible to others.

This post has sometimes black padlock at the beginning and sometimes this red DELETED.

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duivert avatar image
duivert answered ·

@Guy Stewart (Victron Community Manager) i have been trying to change my avatar, but its not possible for a while, tried different browsers but no luck, is it a forum bug?

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Seems to be, reported it a while ago as well.
1 Like 1 ·
Al avatar image Al commented ·

I have tried a few times and failed to manually upload a picture over the last few weeks, but 2 days ago decided to try the Gravatar option, which I've never used before, but it was more simple than I expected, and that worked.

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